Highlights
- Every week, 9.0% of gross sales goes to the franchisor before rent, food or labor: royalty 5% or 4% of Gross Sales, depending on the circumstances, advertising Not less than 4% of Gross Sales.p.18
- Opening one unit is estimated at $1,472,000 to $2,807,000, including a $45,000 initial fee.p.24
- McDonald's discloses unit performance in Item 19: average annual sales volume of $4,088,000.p.42
- The system went from 13,455 outlets at the start of 2023 to 13,706 at the end of 2025, a net gain of 251.p.45
- Item 3 discloses 6 matters.p.12
Tools, from this filing's numbers
What McDonald's takes off the top
Royalty 5% or 4% of Gross Sales, depending on the circumstances plus advertising Not less than 4% of Gross Sales, applied to your own sales estimate. The rates are the filing's; the sales are yours.
Preset to the filing's Item 19 figure, $4,088,000 a year.p.42
Cash you would need to open
The filing's Item 7 range, $1,472,000 to $2,807,000, is an estimate for one unit including only its first months. Slide between the low and high cases and add the months of runway you want beyond that.
Monthly operating cash is taken as one-twelfth of your weekly-sales figure above times 52, a placeholder for rent, labor and food until you have your own budget.
Total outlets, 2022 to 2025
Compare McDonald's with another brand
Side by side, every figure cited.
Fees (Items 5 and 6)
| Initial franchise fee, standard | $45,000 | p.17 |
| Royalty | 5% or 4% of Gross Sales, depending on the circumstances | p.18 |
| Advertising fund | Not less than 4% of Gross Sales | p.18 |
| Technology fee | held for review |
The filing lists every recurring and conditional fee in Item 6. The report carries all of them.
Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
| Expenditure | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45,000 | $45,000 | p.24 |
| Signs, Seating, Equipment, and Decor | $1,100,000 | $1,850,000 | p.24 |
| Opening Inventory | $20,000 | $39,000 | p.24 |
| Miscellaneous Opening Expenses | $55,000 | $68,000 | p.24 |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $250,000 | $452,000 | p.24 |
| Total | $1,472,000 | $2,807,000 | p.24 |
Revenue (Item 19)
McDonald's reports average annual sales volume of $4,088,000 across 12702 outlets for during 2025.p.42 What the figure measures, which units were excluded and what it leaves out are in the report.
Units (Item 20)
| Type | Year | Start | End | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| franchised | 2023 | 12,764 | 12,772 | 8 | p.45 |
| company owned | 2023 | 691 | 685 | -6 | p.45 |
| total | 2023 | 13,455 | 13,457 | 2 | p.45 |
| franchised | 2024 | 12,772 | 12,887 | 115 | p.45 |
| company owned | 2024 | 685 | 672 | -13 | p.45 |
| total | 2024 | 13,457 | 13,559 | 102 | p.45 |
| franchised | 2025 | 12,887 | 13,062 | 175 | p.45 |
| company owned | 2025 | 672 | 644 | -28 | p.45 |
| total | 2025 | 13,559 | 13,706 | 147 | p.45 |
Arithmetic checks flagged: item7: high lines sum to 2454000, total says 2807000. The figures shown are as filed.
Litigation (Item 3)
6 pending cases described.p.12 Counts are of distinct matters as the filing describes them; the report carries each one in plain words.
Scorecard
Rank among the brands on this site that report the figure, on each list's own direction. No blended grade. How the lists work.
| Cost to open | $1,472,000 | 63 of 74 |
| Royalty plus ad fund | 9.0% | 24 of 59 |
| Three-year unit growth | 1.9% | 48 of 75 |
| Closure rate | held | held |
| Discloses unit revenue | yes | |
| Litigation disclosed | 6 | 6 of 68, 1 = most |
Source
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions franchise filing 640986, effective 4/15/2026, expires 4/15/2027. Extracted 2026-09-04 by two independent readers; only figures both agreed on, whose quoted words appear on the cited page, are shown. 9 fields held for review. How this works.